The United Airlines incident from earlier this month brought up a longstanding, recurring conversation about people of color and solidarity. This is because Dr. David Dao, the man at the center of United’s now infamous incident, happens to be a Vietnamese American. Many wonder if Dao’s race has any importance in this matter because, according to United, he was randomly selected by a computer after no one volunteered to give up their seat on the overbooked plane. Many others assert that Dao would have never been brutally yanked from his seat and violently dragged through the aisle of the plane by the airline’s security officers if he were white. For many, the incident was reminiscent of recent recorded acts of police brutality against black people in the United States.
The media dragged the airline. Aside from the media’s lashing, the backlash from the Asian American community was immediate and fierce. Some Asian Americans even took to protesting and boycotting United Airlines. A lot of the shock came from the fact that Dao, an Asian American man, is apart of “the model minority.” Why was he being treated like this if he’s done everything right? He wasn’t dressed like a thug. He didn’t steal anything. He is a doctor. The revelation that discrimination is not limited to blacks and Latinos was must have come as a surprise to many.
My Asian relatives are particularly outraged about the United Airlines vid
No such outrage w/any of the shootings of black Americans
— Stephanie *see pinned tweet* Tran (@YouAndYourEgo) April 11, 2017
However, many people lament on the silence from Asian people and other non-black people of color week after week when black people are routinely marginalized, brutalized, and murdered. It seems to many black people that they have no allies when instances like this occur in their communities. They might even be blamed for the violence against them. A lot of this stems from anti-blackness which, unfortunately, people of color are not immune to.
The unfortunate truth is that anti-blackness is present in all communities, even in the black community, but it rampant in the communities of non-black people of color like Asians.
Every other race has a derogatory term for black people. In the face of white supremacy, all races have collectively tried to align themselves with white people, distancing themselves from black people and black struggles as a result. Desmond Tutu famously said, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.”
Non-black people of color are inherently choosing white supremacy when they ignore the struggles of black people.
A lot of frustration arises when non-black communities disregard black causes and issues and then expect the black community to stand behind them when incidents like this happen.
I wanna empathize with the Asian man done wrong by @united but I remember that Asians truly hate black people and he wouldn't side with me.
— CAPITOL not CAPITAL (@Raymo_knows) April 13, 2017
That’s not to say non-black people of color haven’t been allies in black causes, but is it what they’re doing enough to combat inequality enough?
us nbpoc need to start addressing the anti blackness in our communities. We cannot be united if there is anti blackness in our communities.
— ? °･ s ･°? (@unearthlyaqua) December 21, 2016
You might be asking yourself, “What more can I do?” For one, unlearn your taught anti-blackness. All of us have internalized this. Then, educate your family member that makes black jokes. Teach your non-black friends what alliance looks like. Defend your black friends. Don’t just advocate for us when it’s trendy to do so. Advocate when it’s unpopular. Uplift us so that we can uplift each other. That is what true solidarity of POC looks like.
